Thanks everyone for the congratulations on the 5K. I'm definitely signing up for another one. I did a 30 minute run this beautiful, cool morning. It was perfect weather and I felt like I could have gone on and on. I just didn't have enough time for a long run.

Pink Geranium- I wanted to give you a special thanks for all your pre 5K advice. I chose to run without the ipod which I was nervous about. But I did feel more focused and aware of others without it. Thanks again for taking the time to write your thoughts out for me, it really helped.

Hi Heather- I'm fairly new to this board started running about 3 1/2 months ago. Good luck training for your 1/2 marathon and please continue to post often! Although I am a novice, I really enjoy hearing from more experienced runners. The advice and support is invaluable and I find reading the success stories incredibly motivating.

Kim- good luck getting your oomph back. How did you find a clinic group to become involved in?

Nelie- Great job on the bike/run. Burning 600 calories is incredible! I have no gadgets just a stopwatch/clock and my ipod. I think I need a heart rate gadget or something to track my mileage gadget.

Warning: Running events are habit-forming!

Thanks! Last night was a really nice easy 5K so it was a good boost to my morale. The clinic lecture was also on nutrition and when the speaker talked about dehydration = low blood volume = higher heart rate, I had an "aha" moment. During those two crappy runs, my heart rate kept going up and staying around 170 which is where it should be at the top of a hill or at the end of a sprint, not during the main part of my run. So now my focus this week is hydration in hopes that it'll get me back on track.

The clinics that I'm involved in are at a local Running Room store. I think they might be Canadian only. They were founded by this guy named John Stanton who turned from obese guy into sleek runner and each store runs clinics from Learn To Run through to marathon training. They also have group runs which are open to anyone who wants to join in each Wednesday evening and Sunday morning. I'm a huge fan of the stores both for the wonderful help I've had in finding the running stuff I need (shoes, gels, etc.) and the social aspect.

I registered for a half marathon in February yesterday, w00t! Time to start pushing up that long run on the weekends.

This morning I did 5.09 miles at a nice brisk pace.

Cool!!! Is this your first half -- and are you following any particular half marathon training schedule?

Nope, it's not my first. I've done 2 others. I always think I want to train for a full marathon, but when it comes to getting those really looooong runs in I stop enjoying myself. So I guess maybe I'm more of a half mary girl for now!

I'm probably going to slightly modified a Hal Higdon training plan, and keep my week day runs around 5 miles while pushing up the length of my weekend run. Recently, I haven't been running any longer than 8 miles on the weekend, so I'd like to get more comfie around 10-11 as a long run.

What I REALLY need is a freaking drop in heat and humidity! That would help more than anything!

You could run a half today, Jo! If you can run 8 miles, you can run 13.1. Mine is October 19th....must actually register!

My best friend is running a half in Colorado in a few weeks. Her training sched does have her running one 12er. I mentioned the concept of being ready after doing 8ers. She said perhaps, but those last few miles were really super tough (not what she said but I'm being polite ), so she's inclined to get her bod a bit more ready with some more mileage.

I guess anything (after a certain training amt) can really work, it might be personal choice?

Tomorrow am I am doing a 9.3ish run with a friend while our little ones are in pre-school. I can't think of a more pleasantly (hopefully; depending on how the run goes) productive way to spend the two hours my teeny tiny 2 year old guy is at school. BTW, that baaaaby of mine is almost as big as his 4.5 year old brothers. They look more like trips than twins and a younger, hee.

Kim the Running Room sounds fantastic. I need to find something around here to get involved in. I can honestly say I have not one friend who runs or even has the vaguest inclination to start. It makes me bummed.

Josephine~ a half marathon wahoo! At least in Feb. you"ll have that cooler weather.

midwife~good luck on your Oct 1/2 marathon, it'll be here before you know it

Kittycat~ enjoy your run tomorrow, i hope your weather is perfect for it

I just did another 1/2 hour run tonight with some hills and fields. I'm trying to work up to a 1 hour run with that "becoming a one hour runner" program. Have fun on your runs tomorrow!

Lene - Do you have any running stores near you? That's usually a good place to find out about other groups. You could also google your town/neighboring towns and "running group" - good luck finding something that works for you!

Josephine - With all the miles you run you'd definitely be able to do a 1/2 now, but it's exciting that you signed up! Will your race be in FL? I'm not sure I could take the heat, but my in-laws live in Jax so I've considered looking at races near there. However, the 5K my daughter and I did in Puerto Rico this summer about killed me with the humidity!

Midwife - Your 1/2 is the same day as my full. I've discovered that training for a full has done nothing for my weight loss, but I am holding fairly steady so I'm thankful for that. Training for a full has been so time consuming that I don't think I'll even consider trying another one soon.

Kim - We actually have a Running Room in Iowa so I think it's slowly moving south of the border (I believe there are stores in Minnesota as well).

KittyCat - Enjoy your run with a friend - it sounds like a great way to spend a couple of hours.

Hello to everyone else!

I think it depends on your goal for the race -- do you want simply to finish? Or are you shooting for a particular time goal? Fundamentally, you can only do what you've trained to do -- with a little extra boost due to that race day adrenaline. If the longest run you've EVER done is one 10 miler, and that was really hard, then you certainly can complete 3.1 more miles on race day. It will be a tough last 3 miles, you may be walking parts of it, you certainly won't break any speed records, and you will probably feel some after-effects (soreness, etc). But, you can make it through to the finish line! (and collect that shiny medal)

OTOH, if you are accustomed to running a 10-12 mile long run comfortably every week as a routine training run, then completing 13 is really no big deal. When you have a good long-run base (close to your race distance if possible) that's when you can start working to get faster. My personal guideline for races is you can try to run LONGER or you can try to run FASTER than you've trained, but if you try to do both, the crash-and-burn likelihood is high.

For any first-timer, I suggest the goal should ONLY be to finish. Who cares how long it takes, the only thing you have to worry about is the course time limit. If they're not shutting down the finish line before you get there, then you're fast enough. Just the act of training for, and completing, a 13.1 mile race is a very significant accomplishment!!

That brings back memories -- my very first race was a 5 miler. I had been running for a whole 3 weeks. I was just curious about this running/racing thing, and my marathon-running sister was trying to talk me into training for a half and running with her. I had no clue what I was doing, I went out way too fast (of course) and had to drop to a walk within a few minutes. I walked/ran the thing -- had no clue about timed intervals as a strategy, I just couldn't sustain a running pace for all that long. I ended up finishing in 58 minutes something (which I thought was FABULOUS) and as I passed the finish line I heard the announcer finish the awards ceremony and say "and thanks to all of you for coming out today ..." They were about ready to roll up the finish line ... But, as an over-40 female, who had NEVER participated in any kind of organized sports, just crossing the finish line to cheering crowds (OK, one or two cheering people) created an incredible feeling of accomplishment. It was a completely new experience, a revelation.

So, then I was hooked! I did train for and run that half marathon with my sister, a few months later, back in 2002. And I've run 3 more half marathons, a full marathon, and who knows how many 5K / 10K races since. And, I did get faster -- eventually!

Hope you don't mind this trip down memory lane ...

Hi runners!

DH and I did our trail race today. We opted for the 16.6K route instead of the 23.3K, partly because of a couple of cruddy runs and party because I'm trying to make running less stressful.

We had a fantastic run and we finished in 1:52, 5 minutes faster than we did on our trial run a couple of weeks ago. I had some problems with my ankle from an old ankle injury (I fell down some stupid stairs three years ago) and I was worried I'd have to cut the run short, but after a bit it seemed to warm up and it didn't hurt again until near the end.

The course was made up of rolling hills without any real flat areas, so I've been focusing on doing legs lifts and squats at home to strengthen up my glutes. It really paid off when I was powering up those hills faster than I usually do!

The kids raced in the 600m/1.6k kids race earlier in the morning and they thought it was great. DD was so excited to finally be running just like Mom and Dad. DS sprinted way too quick at the start and had burning lungs half way through. He said he thought he was going to die, poor fella. My Mom stayed with the kids while DH and I raced and then they joined us on the final stretch to the finish line.

Hey running chicks. I'm stopping in to tell you there has been a rumor started about me. I've been told that people are talking about my recent weight loss and fitness. "Well, she's a long time marathoner..."

too funny. I think it's been quelled. Perhaps it is fate that I should make this fiction a reality.

BTW, the run was great-- ran and chatted the whole way thru with a perfect weather day as background.

I just got back from my first 'race'... a 10k.. omg I'm tired but I definitely want to do it again!

So many hills though! Odd really I had no problem running up and down the hilly parts its the flats I tended to want to walk on? (I did have to walk a couple of times).

Took me 1hr 10mins 52secs... not amazing but I've never competed before

Congrats, Denial!!!

at the rumor Kitty. But hey---you must have a runner's body now!

I asked Ilene to make a running FAQ sticky at the top of the exercise forum for all those questions that pop up every few weeks. Feel free to check it out and ask questions and spout wisdom.